One of my friends is Hilton hhonors member. He always mentions that once I stay at Hampton Inn, I will never want to go back to Holiday Inn, so is Hampton Inn really that good? How about Homewood suites and Embassy suites? Are they also better than Staybridge suites or Candlewood in general? Any thoughts?

I had 120 something nights last year at ICHG hotels (40+ nights at IC and about 80 nights at CP, HI , HIX and Staybridge). I am thinking about spending at least 60 nights at Hilton lower-end family hotels (Hampton, Homewood and Embassy) this year in order to get hhonors diamond membership, then I can still maintain my RA status by staying 60 nights mainly at IC.